Florida's Until the End unites its members from various other bands active in the local early-2000s hardcore scene, but the band's surprisingly metallic delivery also harks back to mid-'80s crossover acts like New York's Agnostic Front and Texas' D.R.I. The CD booklet of their fourth release, 2004's The Blind Leading the Lost, looks like a newspaper, and its lyrics read like a manifesto. Framed by uncompromisingly heavy guitars, they declare Until the End's concern and disgust for the nation's current state of affairs in no uncertain terms -- even making one wonder if the group's year 2000 inception wasn't perhaps motivated by W's voting shenanigans in the band's native state. Regardless of all that, it's most definitely the music doing the talking here, and standout tracks such as "Traitor" and "My Own American Dream" require little window dressing in order to exude both an animalistic catharsis and anthemic intelligence. The overall song quality seems to taper off just a tad toward the end of the album, but additional tense, terse musical indictments like "This Is Our Last Chance," "Total Control," and "Prove You Wrong" still manage to hold their own on occasion. Speed bursts abound throughout but hardly dominate; instead, they are used judiciously to offset Until the End's preferred mid-paced riffs. Topping it all off, new vocalist James McHugh's fearsomely ragged roar only heightens the album's sense of urgency, ultimately making this album a great example of modern hardcore.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo